Clutch of Inspirations.

February 28, 2010

Manchester Games @ 5:32 AM

Grand Canal, Venice :) It's so pretty, ain't it??

***

Yesterday was the Manchester Games for us Malaysians! It's a pity there are lots of other events like Sheffield Games and different unis' Malaysian Night going on on the same day. The participants and spectators crowd was so much smaller compared to Nottingham Games. Well, anyway, Sugden (shown in pic above) won't be able to accommodate too big a sea of people :P

Being Malaysians, the Games cannot start on time. The opening ceremony was a brief one, with a speech or two, the oath and some misc stuff. And it was time to get things going!

Sis and I volunteered for badminton or Scrabble but we were put to look after squash.

Basically our job is to monitor the game and jolt down the results..since we have no idea how to be referee for the matches..luckily there were only 5 competitors.

Learned through observation how the score system is like. Okay, more like, the players themselves have to keep updating us on their scores. But well, at least I got it right half of the time. XD So squash looked quite fun to play, with lots of running and smashing...I can't help but wonder why this game is called 'squash'..it feels more like 'smash'. Hahahah. Anyhow, perhaps I'll give it a go one day!

The players! From left: Yus, KaiChuan, Syaz, Chris and Razak. Nice peeps with great sportsmanship! Thanks for being so helpful and patient. X)

After all the squash rounds are done with, sis and I were kidnapped to volleyball match by Tianji. Much simpler job though, flipping the scoreboard...

Manchester Thai Society VS..

..MSSM! I wanna play volleyball too~ ball games are all so fun! Except golf. Golf is simply tooo boring! No excitement at all :P

Kuih muih from the Malaysian Food Fair! Since it was nearing the end of the day, we got half price discount for it! Felt soo happy eating them...yc linda vh!! Let's hit the pasar malam when we get back! I'm so craving for all the different kinds of kuih and cakes..

Murtabak, nasi lemak, ayam goreng etc...

So much smaller than the food fair at Nottingham..but then again, there were a lot more people there!

Back from the food fair, I glued myself to the badminton court till the end of the games. It was pretty quiet there compared to the basketball court where all the cheers and yelling came from...tried watching it but the playing was too rough for me to take - just like football. Don't like to see the players bumping and knocking into each other, foul words popping out of the mouth, or the typical throw-hands-open action + a furious expression...XD Beats me how I watched the basketball finals for Olympics.

Then it was time for the closing. Somewhat dingy :P Everyone was just standing or seated in groups..scattered around in the hall.

Benny and Laki(?) - table tennis 1st runner ups! Congrates~

Yus - 2nd runner up for squash! Razak and Chris ditched their medals XD

Badminton champions - from Birmingham, if my memory serves right. Everyone put up quite a good match though..well, those that I watched - namely from champions to 3rd runner ups.

Random shots taken by Ying :)

Basketball champions - Imperial College.

I see someone...hahahah!

I ♥ Manchester Games. Free meal. Free tee. Got to make a lot of new friends. Learned some stuff. Watched badminton competition live..it's actually the 1st time I witness one on the spot. Badminton rules!! *hands itching to play*

Boofle says goodnight and that he wishes to go to Venice too ;)

Labels: happy me, winter

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February 21, 2010

Life is a test @ 11:30 PM

Life moves on at a fast pace in the new semester. I hardly have time to sit back and think about what to blog, with so many new stuff from lectures to catch up with, not to mention EBL questions and lab report. Trying to make the most out of lectures and not let my mind drift and blank off, but sigh, it's hard to even keep my eyelids open some lazy mornings. Anyhow, at least I have been marking full attendance for lectures, EBL sessions and tutorials. PASS? I skipped it for the very 1st time last last week.. :P

***

It hasn't been a very pleasant weekend. After eating free food at the Malaysian Society CNY Celebration, agony hit me bad with tummyache. Twice I passed motion that night and once again the next morning after being woken up by the stirring pain.

That's the molehill. The mountain's my berserk laptop. Long story but the point is it simply crashes nonstop. I spent half of my time dealing with it, now it's miraculously working after I disabled my antivirus programme. Some annoying virus invasion...Please go away!!!

***

The Season of Lent has just began on Ash Wednesday 4 days ago. For those who don't know, Lent is a time for interior cleansing, conversion and repentance, lasting for 40 days excluding Sundays, ending on Easter Sunday. This year, Pope Benedict XVI has put forward the message for us to "focus on justice - a justice that goes beyond every law and duty, a justice shaped by love; a love which is perfect because it is of God." May God guide us through as we attempt to discover anew his overflowing grace and love!

Here's a short prayer for all :)

Lord,

bless our Lenten journey.

Refresh within us a keen sense of justice

for all in our lives

and for all around the world.

Lift our sights beyond indignation

so that our efforts for justice

may be the fruit of love

which You alone provide

in all its fullness.

Walk with us closely

on our journey to You.

Amen.

Labels: normal me, winter

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February 18, 2010

爆竹声中一岁除，春风送暖入屠苏 @ 10:03 PM

It's the very first time I spend Chinese New Year away from family. I remembered last year my cousin was having exams in Manchester when we were happily celebrating at our grandparents' house; thus, I prepared to spend a pathetic new year here this year, with the companion of papers and pens instead of food and angpaus.

Who knows this year our Sem1 exams were over before CNY! Such a relief. And so, begins the ultimate plans for our CNY season.

For consecutive 3 nights before our CNY eve, we had quality time baking all sorts of cookies that came to mind. The best just have to be our beloved kuih momo with its soft, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture and sweet icing sugar coating. Trust me, it tasted so so heavenly when it's still fresh and warm from the oven!!

Then there were also almond cookies, chocolate cookies, coffee cookies, cornflakes cookies, green peas cookies.

Then my 发糕. Due to lack of equipment and too fragile baking cups, I had to squeeze 7 of them in the steamer in one go so that they can support each other, even stuck paper rolls at the gaps between. Nevertheless, the shapes came out all funny and weird but at least they all "smiled" at the top! The taste was still alright, I personally think the santan smell is too strong..perhaps I smelled too much of it while making it.

***

The culture of eating reunion dinner on New Year Eve was not to be forgotten! Who will, anyway, hahah..We celebrated it with friends, Chinese and non-Chinese alike, at our hall.

Yee-sang! Apparently Singaporeans and West Malaysians have a lot of it during CNY, but not us Mirians. I have only eaten it once, as far as I remember. Thanks to Lionel and Vanda for preparing this! Good chopping and slicing training~~

It is said that the higher you 捞, the more luck you'll get in this year! My fork could barely reach the dish...so I quitted squeezing and took photos instead XP

My tummy is super hungry now, so I avoid listing out all the food you see there!

Jake's chocolate cake with "hidden treasure" :P and Matthew+Sarah's jasmine jelly.

***

First day of CNY - A crowded Chinatown.

Releasing the red balloons...I guess there's a meaning for it?

People, people and people. More locals than Chinese, lol. They are probably curious about the Chinese performances.

MCs speaking in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.

My first glimpse of the lion dance.

And very regretfully, my hard work after being pushed around in the crowd to record the lion dance goes to waste cause the video is not working apparently on my blog site. Sigh. Never been in a more compact crowd seriously...just let the swarm of people squeezed me about as the security guy boomed at us to move backwards

to make way for the lion dance and qi lin. hahah.

Happy Chinese New Year to all! :D

Labels: happy me, winter

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February 14, 2010

the getaway part ii @ 8:12 PM

A scrumptious full English breakfast was waiting for each of us the next morning. Toasts, ham, sausage, baked beans, black pudding, tomatoes, pouched egg, mushroom. Then there was milk, orange juice, cereals, all kinds of jam, even a big jar of nutella. Couldn't be more happy :D i know catered halls peeps are sick of this kinda breakfast.

Pretty pot of flowers, Mummy will love it :) And I think her affection for flowers is getting on to me.

In front of Lancaster Castle, where we went on a tour, learning about some interesting bits of history in the county. Part of the castle is still being used as the prison, up till now. Thus, tools for torturing prisoners and criminals were exhibited, i.e. the Scolds Bridle, the Lunatic Chair etc. Scary stuff, eww.

Then there were the cells for locking up prisoners awaiting trials since judges travel to the town only twice a year. Imagine being closed in a totally dark room for months, all excretion process done in a 6m square cell shared among up to about 5 people. Intrigued, I grabbed the chance to experience the absolute darkness for a short time, and got scolded by my mum for that cause many people died of diseases in there.

moral : try not to get into prison :D

Just next to the castle brimming with endless tales of the past, sits the ancient St. Mary's Priory Church, which is an Anglican church. The architecture and structures of the church date back up to over 900 years, the least, 200 years.

Every slab of stone you step on is engraved with the name of a deceased. Yes, underneath the stone lays the body of that very person so basically the entire place was literally a cemetery.

The Holy Water well.

Quite fascinating how there are different carvings under each of the chairs. These are believed to be the work of the Benedictine monks who had to stand for long hours during daily services back then. The miniature seat there allow them to lean on it and thus, relieve soreness of their legs.

Product of stained glass and sunlight.

The two budaks who were tired from walking and decided to retrace their childhood, lols.

The Lancaster Canal.

Subway for dinner on the cold night.

Night time scenery viewing became photo taking session using Lionel's amazing camera.

***

The last day came soon enough, after a tiresome night of watching a tornado movie and "The Interpreter" till past midnight. Somehow I managed to get up at 5 something in the morning and took a shower without the heater on initially. I get amazed by myself occasionally XD. Anyway, at 6.30a.m, Lionel and I set off to catch the sunrise.

The plan was to just watch it from this place - Millenium Bridge but disappointing enough, the view from there was plain boring. So in the end, we just walked and walked with the aid of an out of date map :S

The Ashton Memorial silhoutte at dawn.

Another DSLR piece of work.

This is mine!! Hahah, not bad right :P Mind you, my fingers were aching like mad from exposure to the cold when I took photos. It was just awfully coold early in the morning, and there was not a single shop or place for us to slip into for temporary warmth cause shops here normally don't open before 10 on a Sunday morning :( Almost turned into ice blocks after freezing outside for 2 hours. How I loved the bed and blanket after that.

Later, I attended Sunday mass at St Peter's Cathedral with Lionel, again, since the other two preferred to stay warm in bed. Thank God the church was sufficiently warm, at least in the beginning it was.

The procession of the mass was rather similar to that of my church back at home, compared to most other churches I had been to in UK.

A replica of St Peter's statue in St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.

In the afternoon, it was time to bid Lancaster goodbye. A captivating little town with unspoken beauty, I would say. Maybe one day I'll find an opportunity to pay it a short visit again! :) If so, I'll get you the purple ball, sis! hahah.

Labels: travels, winter

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